Miss Moon Gets Healthy: With a NEW Way to Reward Herself!!!

At the start of my fitness journey, I would periodically give myself a little treat to reward myself for the hard work I've accomplished. The treat?!? A thick juicy bacon cheeseburger from Jake's BBQ here in Brooklyn. Sooo good! They're on Seamless Web, my Brooklyn friends... check 'em out!

When I would indulge in my treat, it didn't feel unsatisfying, but it also didn't make me feel great either, when I'm honest about it. I didn't feel TREATED... I felt a bit... guilty for doing something I felt was counterproductive to all I'm trying to accomplish. And I've always been a person who believes that good things should be rewarded, and if you choose to reward yourself with a burger, or cupcake, or WHATEVER food you love... I say more power to you!!

I just came to the conclusion that for me... my idea of a treat wasn't a burger. Sorry, Jake's! LOL What really brought home the message of my "A-Ha!" moment was a pin I spotted on Pinterest (That site is a great motivational tool for me, feel free to check out my boards if you haven't already! There's a whole "Miss Moon Gets Healthy" section):

When I saw this, I immediately thought to myself, "This is what I needed to read!!!". I promptly thanked the Universe for the sign that I was making the right choices for my life, and I vowed to pick different treats for myself to reward my workouts. 

And it's really worked out well for me! I'm slowing reprogramming myself to not equate unhealthy food with rewards. Because the way I see it... if junk food is a treat, what's healthy food?!? A punishment! And it really isn't (Except wheatgrass... I'm sorry, but Yecch! lol).

I've treated myself to an eyebrow waxing, those adorable new earrings from Dean + Gray, a new lipstick, and I had to take a moment to include my reward for April.... Do you remember my Quest for THE Bag 2011?!?!? Well......

Not my most glamorous photo, but I was just back from a walk and THE Bag was in the mail, so I had to snap a photo!!! LMAO

What better message that you're on the right path then something you've wanted for OVER A YEAR (!!!!) suddenly becoming a possibility!?!?!? I found it for a STEAL on eBay! And thanks to my wonderful mother (who accepts weekly repayment plans), it's MINE!!! And the feeling I felt when I put that bag on my arm.... was satisfying!!!!

And I looked at my Get Healthy path in a new light. I was tenacious enough to keep checking eBay for over a year until I found THE Bag.... Imagine how far I will go if I put that much zeal into getting healthy and losing this weight?!? I think I do... so let's see how far I'll go between now and next year!

Quest for *THE* Bag 2011: After a few CRUSHING defeats on Ebay..

I am kicking myself for missing an opportunity to get the Coach Peyton Bag for less than $300!!! I completely forgot that the auction was ending!!

I remain ever vigilant and I am confident that one day (cue the opening melody to "Someday We'll be Together" by Diana Ross and the Supremes...LOL), one day sooner or later, I am going to find this bag. This  baby will be mine!!!

In the meantime, to cheer myself up from the blunder of the day, I decided to get myself my first handbag in almost a year.



Another Coach Legacy bag, this is the Bleecker Leather Tote, which I got for almost NOTHING on Ebay! Yay, me!

I decided to send myself the message that I can get a Coach bag I like on Ebay for cheap, by getting one for cheap!! While it's not my beloved Peyton, it will fill the void. For now! LOL

Quest for *THE* Bag 2011: Found the Bag...

.... but here's the gotcha:



The bag, called the Coach 13051 Patent Leather Peyton Handbag is a LIMITED EDITION bag, and from what I've seen online, is uber hard to find for less than $400.00 on Ebay.

So alas, there will regrettably be no instant gratification for yours truly, but I am patient and super crafty...and that bag will be mine without spending a grip!!

I SWEAR I'm not Obsessed (But I AM a Little Dorky) About....

THIS...... HANDBAG.......



Can you all believe that I have not purchased a single handbag since my Quest for *THE* Bag almost a year ago? No Jive!!

I decided to go on a handbag fast after that, because I found myself with a closet of handbags that I was NOT using. Last spring, many of the bags were donated and I avoided temptation with no slip ups (I didn't even get any of the bags after my back went out!!!).... until today! LOL

I spotted this beauty on the arm of a woman at the Tracy Reese and JRT Multimedia “Shop for a Cause” event in NYC, featured on Essence Magazine Online.



This beautiful bag is from Coach, and sadly, that's all I know about it. I have a sinking suspicion that it's one of their "Audrey" bags, and that kinda seals the deal for me. I mean, if the bag, LITERALLY has my name attached it is.... I must find out! And I must have this bag. So I hereby crack this bottle of Absolute Brooklyn on the side of this blog and christen Quest for *THE* Bag 2011!! LMAO

Any information you may have about this bag, please leave a comment or shoot me a line!

Quest for *THE* Bag: Is OVER.... For Now!

I found a site online that sells designer replicas and managed to find a knock off of *THE* Bag.... but I decided not to get it.

Armed with a 15% off coupon, I ended up purchasing the BCBG Max Azria 'Urban Rock' Leather Hobo Bag from Overstock.com

I fell in love with this deep dark chocolate color and came to the conclusion that this will be *THE* Bag of my dreams... until I hit lotto! LOL

Quest for *THE* Bag: Lost in Ebay World!

At the advise of my handbag guru, Elaine... I stalked Ebay for the past 7 days, looking for *THE* Bag, only to find some information and an ethical dilema.

According to several online reports, most of the "Authentic" designer handbags sold on Ebay are very convincing fakes.



I wish I could say that this surprises me, but it doesn't. How else would you buy a $25,000 handbag online for crackhead prices unless it's bogus?

Message to Ebay Sellers: You know the bag is fake, I know the bag is fake... Don't insult my intelligence by asking for over $250. For real.

Do I have a problem with fakes? No. Do I drink the "Oh these poor, poor designers are getting ripped off.. boo hoo!" Kool-Aid? No. Do I have a problem supporting counterfeiting? Kinda, actually. Primarily because I don't know exactly who is making a profit from my support (The conspiracy theorist in me SWEARS it's the "Poor Designers" themselves. Because the same people that complain about losing money are the same people that clamor to give celebrities these bags FOR FREE so that they could be seen and photographed wearing them... which makes us want to buy them. And of course we can't afford them, so we buy knock offs. But I digress..lol).

Right now I have to weigh the pros and cons... One the one hand, I can get a very reasonable impostor of  *THE* Bag for a song (So what if it's a GOUCHI instead of a Gucci? lol). On the other hand, I am concerned about who benefits from the sale of this merchandise (drug dealers, mafia, etc.)?

What's your philosophy on designer knockoffs? Do you buy them?Would you?

I SWEAR I'm not Obsessed (But I AM a Little Dorky) About....

Oh, hella... who am I kidding? I am TOTALLY obsessed with what I call *The* handbag. It has become an obsession of mine that has me searching the four corners of the Universe (well, the four corners of the Internet) to find.

Of course I first saw the bag on "Girlfriends"*....

*I got the picture by pausing the DVD and using my BlackBerry. Ghetto as hell, I know.. but you get the idea! LOL

So far, I've discovered that *The* Bag is from Gucci and that its a black leather horsebit hobo. Now, with that information, I know that there is NO WAY IN HELL I will be rocking the same bag anytime soon (I am hardly a lawyer-turned-restaurateur), but it has become my new mission to find a reasonable facsimile for someone making Customer Service Representative money! LOL

I've decided to chronicle my search with a new blog post called ::::drumroll, please::::: Quest for *THE* Bag.. so this entry is actually a crossover blog, as it's a "I SWEAR I'm not Obsessed" and also the first entry for Quest for *THE* Bag... Hooray! My first crossover!!!

In my search, I discovered a better picture of what I think is *THE* Bag, courtesy of Jessica Simpson and the folks at CelebrityArmCandy.com --

Of course any information any of my readers have that will lead me closer to *THE* Bag for insanely cheap (or an insanely identical knock off) would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!